Ahtism · 12:52pm Jan 28th, 2017
You know what always struck me as a bit weird? The most common argument against writing Applejack's accent is that we all already know how she sounds, so it's unnecessary. Yet I seem to recall hearing that the mark of really great fanfiction is the ability to be understood and enjoyed by audience members who have little-to-no knowledge of the source material. So which is it? Or did I hear wrong?
And if I'm writing Applejack talking to an original character who also has a thick accent, am I supposed to only write out one of their accents? Or should I leave both accents out, put in the narration what accent they have, and then hope readers know what that accent sounds like? Or should I just write it like I would an original story, perhaps varying based on the focus character? Like, among the Apples, they sound normal, but a city pony might think they sound like rednecks. Or if Applejack were talking with somepony whom she could barely understand, should it be written out phonetically then? Or just never, because it's hard to read?
Any thoughts on the issue of written accents? 'Cause I could use some right now. I ain't sayin' I'm workin' on an Applejack-focused fic, 'cause I don't wanna get anyone's hopes up, but...
I see what you did with the title...
4400068
I can't take credit for that pun, actually. It's from "The Coalition to Cure 'Ah'-tism" group, though it's apparently been renamed "It's an 'Ah'-sore". I can't imagine why.
Honestly, I think it should just be written out normal, and put some kind of descriptor at the bottom or top.
Because, for me at least, it just looks weird when the accent is actually spelled out.
Mah view on this has turned around a bit. Personally, I still do enjoy reading and writing AJ's accent in a phonetic style, but these days, I tone it down a lot in my own writing. The biggest objections I've seen from people are:
- It makes dialogue difficult to understand
- It doesn't accurately portray how AJ or actual southerners really talk
- it isn't necessary if you're a good writer
Personally, I don't buy this last objection. It is true; even without her accent, Applejack talks differently to other ponies, and a good writer can convey that. But I still think there is certainly a place for phonetic accents in fiction; that they add flavor and help to paint the scene.
I do take the first 2 points, and thus in my own work I've dropped the "Ah"s and "yer"s, and I limit myself to elision ("doin'", "goin'", etc.) instead, just to add that flavor.
One objection that I haven't seen, surprisingly, is this: some people do AJ's accent wrongly, using phonetics that aren't appropriate. On A Cross And Arrow is the most famous offender I can think of:
(I mean, maybe it's just me, but this sounds more Irish to me than southern). I can see why people would object to that, especially as it's a common failing of newbie writers.
I think Hawthorn said it well already, though I slightly disagree with his conclusion.
I don't think it ever makes for a "nice bit of flavor." All it does is reduce readability, and is only "acceptable" because it is so prevalent that many of us have gotten used to it.
Dialogue is quotation. It should always be a direct quote of what someone actually said. Using real words. If AJ says, "I sure do like apples!" then that is what your dialogue should have her saying. She is not ever saying "ah" no matter what her accent makes it sound like.
If she sounds a particular way when she speaks, and you want to clarify that, that is what narration is for. AJ never sounds like she has an accent to herself. From her point of view, she'd speak plainly and normally. You might, for especially comedic reasons, narrate how everyone else sounds weird to her, when she stops to really listen. If the point of view is Rarity, then by all means express in the narration and her inner thoughts about how AJ sounds to her. If it is a total stranger, then narrate accordingly. If they too have a weird accent, point out how everyone sounds weird, but AJ sounds different-weird from all the other weird speakers.
When you infect her dialogue with ah-tism, you're not making a flavorful reminder of her accent. What you're doing is reminding us she sounds weird. If you're speaking to someone in person with an accent, the strangeness wears off. If their accent is especially thick, you might mistake what word they say now and then, and it is really up to reaction and narration to depict that. If your pov is from Rarity, and she's talking with Aryanne, Aryanne's dialogue should be what Rarity thinks she said. Aryanne never says, "joos" because that isn't a word. Rarity wouldn't think, "Aryanne just said a strange sound I don't recognize." Rarity would interpret the sound and perhaps come up with "juice." She'd then wonder why Aryanne is so passionate about her dislike of juice, and perhaps make a mental note to keep her away from AJ, whom might get into a socially awkward situation with her come cider season.
Ah-tism is bad when you stop and think about what the characters are doing. Both the speaker with the accent, and the audience. If someone's accent is so bad they're rendered unintelligible to the pov listener, then don't quote them. Whatever they were saying wasn't conveyed. Instead narrate that they spoke, describe their demeanor, but don't convey what they've said. If they speak, and some meaning makes it through, decide the best method of quoting that, and explain the confusing nature of the garbled message with narration. If they're perfectly intelligible, then quote them perfectly. Again, use narration to describe details of accent the same way you'd describe body language or activity. Accent is part of the scenery, not the message of a quotation.
That last point is actually very good. If you're a good writer, you don't need lazy shortcuts like ah-tism. If your work is being read by a non-fan, they should get the effect of AJ's accent without ah-tism interfering with their ability to read what she's actually saying, and how the listener understands what she says.
I don't mind it when it's not overdone, but it becomes a pain in the ass for both the writer and reader if the story is long and the character appears in it often. That's why I completely gave up on Twist's lisp a long time ago. As for examples when it's done badly, that was one of my only complaints about Fallout: Equestria: everyone with a southern accent used use way too many apostrophes in their speech:
And remember that one of them, Calamity, is with us for, like, 600k words...
I agree wholeheartedly with Cryosite.
That said, for any given story - pick one. Consistency is king.
Personally, whenever I see "ain't" or "reckon" I'll read the rest of the sentence/paragraph with a drawl, however slight.
I once had a ore-reader said no, it's just discrtating.
I think it's good to write her accent, even if we already know what she sounds like. It adds to the authenticity of her character, I think. And a good writer can write an accent without confusing readers.